Sweet Tooth
by Ontogenesis
Summary: Fai wants Kurogane to eat sweet things. Kurogane protests. Hilarity ensues. SPOILERS for Chaptire 125.


Title: Sweet Tooth

Author: ontogenesis

Rating: PG-13, I guess. Tame by Anne Rice's standards.

Word Count: 1790

Spoiler Warning: Chapitre 125, etc.

Summary: Fai tries to make Kurogane eat sweet things. Kurogane protests.

Dedication: to my okaasama & otousama (tingting & cienna), who demanded I write this ficlet when I proposed a silly idea.

The stench was unmistakable.

Kurogane shifted irritably on his futon, not wanting to open his eyes. And sight wasn't necessary to identify the source of the stench: an unholy trinity of hot chocolate, sticky buns, and an evil invention known as "Frenchy Toast." The ninja pulled the blanket over his head to filter out the smell and also in the vain hope that the breakfast would retreat if it couldn't see its prey anymore.

"Kuro-ko, wake-up! I made you breakfast in bed!"

Playing dead hadn't worked in the past, but Kurogane felt optimistic and kept still. Suddenly, nimble fingers poked at his ribs and Kurogane let out an involuntary laugh.

"Wai, Kuro-komo is ticklish!" chortled Fai, clapping his hands in fiendish glee as Kurogane threw aside his blanket and glared at Fai, certain that he would be receiving sneak tickle attacks from Fai on a regular basis now. "Bastard. I was sleeping."

"Ah, but Kuro-wanko has been sleeping for eight hours. Surely even puppies don't need that much sleep, yes?"

Kurogane gingerly sat up; he was still stiff from a rough fight the previous day. "I need more sleep to recuperate from the stress of being near an idiot all the time," he growled, but Fai continued chattering as if he hadn't heard: "You don't need that much beauty sleep, Kuro-wanko. You're already quite handsome, although you shouldn't scowl so much – you'll develop ugly frown lines on your face and then your princess won't recognize you when you return home." The mage plucked a sticky bun off the tray and waved it in front of Kurogane's face. "Perhaps this will sweeten your temper a bit."

Kurogane pushed the bun aside, ignoring the hurt expression on the mage's face. The man had missed his calling as an actor, and Kurogane had no doubt that Fai could cry on cue if he so desired. "You know I _hate_ sweet shit. Why don't you make me a proper meal like yesterday?" Kurogane did not particularly enjoy cooking himself, so he had taken the pains to teach Fai to cook proper meals during their stay in Yasha territory. Proper breakfasts included staples like eggs, rice, and miso soup: not sugar, sugar, and more sugar. Fai had learned all Kurogane's recipes with ease and had actually become better at preparing them than Kurogane, so Kurogane only felt even more irritated that Fai was trying to feed him crap.

"But Sakura-chan, Mokona, and the new Syaoran-kun all really liked it, Kuro-roko." Fai threw him a pointed look.

"They're _kids_ and a demented manjuu bun! Of course they like it, they'd probably eat grass sprinkled with sugar if you fed it to them. Well, at least the damn manjuu bun would."

"Just a little taste?" Fai's voice had now a curious quaver to it, and Kurogane wondered why this food had become so significant to Fai. In the past whenever Kurogane refused Fai's offerings, the mage wailed dramatically for the benefit of the children --wasn't Kuro-mochy so mean, and didn't poor Fai suffer and work his fingers to the bone for an ungrateful, cruel ninja?--but he always stopped after stealing their sympathy and fixed him (the ungrateful, cruel ninja) a new meal. But Fai wasn't the same anymore – a fact which Kurogane could not afford to forget. The twin vampires had warned them about physical differences between humans and vampires, but they hadn't mentioned anything about emotional changes. Still, they'd been in one hell of a hurry to escape to a new world, so it was possible they'd left things out in their haste. Fai was certainly doing his damnedest to carry on as if nothing had changed at all, and Kurogane didn't like it all. Denial was dangerous, and Fai could get both of them in serious trouble if he kept secrets about his new condition.

"Please?" asked Fai. Fai rarely asked Kurogane for anything so openly, but Kurogane rarely refused him. It was a sort of unspoken agreement they had shared for some time.

However, Kurogane had already resolved that it was time to test Fai, while they were still in a relatively safe world. "Hell no. Not now, or tomorrow, or the day after either," he replied with as callous a tone as he could muster, ignoring the twist of guilt in his gut.

Fai's face took on a curious, closed expression and he picked up the tray wordlessly and walked towards the door, but he did not go through it. Instead, Fai set the tray on the dresser and stared at it, golden hair spilling around his lowered face. Kurogane watched in fascination as Fai's hair stilled: Fai had stopped breathing. The vampire called Subarash had warned him that vampires did not actually need to breathe, but some did out of habit or to blend in with humans. Fai chose to breathe normally because Fai liked to pretend he was still perfectly human, just like he liked to pretend that nothing ever bothered him, but when Fai got caught up in his thoughts – like now – he forgot his little act.

Generously, Kurogane let Fai stare at the damn breakfast for a few more minutes before he grew annoyed. "Oi, are you trying to brainwash that junk into jumping down my throat?" He was half-serious; the bratty vampire he'd fought with had darkly hinted at the mental capabilities of vampires while giving him an evil smirk. (Kurogane had considered cutting the bratty vampire for that, but decided against it since regeneration was also a capability vampires possessed and he hated useless actions – like arguing over breakfast, for example.)

"I can't eat it."

"Of course you can't. You _know_ that," said Kurogane, annoyed at the mage's tragic tone. He sounded as if he were attending his favorite grandmother's funeral. His priorities had always been screwed up.

"I've tried and it never works." It was barely a whisper.

Kurogane was about to tell him to shut the hell up and go do something useful when Fai's words registered in his mind. He'd heard Fai in the restroom a few times lately, retching over the toilet. It sounded painful, but Kurogane had not intervened since he had attributed it to what Subishy had said about the transitioning between human and vampire – the process wasn't automatic and sometimes a person's body would suffer difficulties during the first few days. But Fai had received the vampire's blood three weeks ago: the only reason Fai would be sick now was because he was making himself sick. By trying to be human.

"You idiot. How many times have you made yourself sick?" Kurogane wanted to sound harsh, but the words came out softly and he found himself standing behind Fai, running fingers through fine hair and placing the other hand on Fai's shoulder. It was just like the idiot mage, to let something upset him and hide it from everyone else.

"I'm sorry Kuro-puu. I didn't want to make you worry. I know it's stupid... but I just couldn't help myself. I _like_ eating: I want to tastethe food I cook, to feel the different textures and different flavors and whether it's hot or cold. I want to eat with the children and Mokona... and you." Fai leaned back against him and Kurogane wrapped his arms around him instinctively. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to complain."

"I thought you liked my blood."

Kurogane felt Fai grin slyly. "Oh, I _do_. It's really not comparable to eating, and a lot more fun, especially when Kuro-pin's being nice. But I thought maybe I could have it both ways because I'm clever. Or greedy."

"So you tried to feed me this sugar-junk," said Kurogane. "Why didn't you just tell me your purpose in the first place and save us some trouble?"

Sheepishly, Fai laughed, fingering the tray. "Well, I didn't want to seem like I was fattening Kuro-oink up for a banquet!"

Kurogane growled. "Don't ever call me 'Kuro-oink' again, and stop worrying about shit like that. I told you already: I'm the one who made the wish so I'll take on the responsibilities. You just need to concentrate on not being an idiot, that alone will take up all your mental capacity. And... I don't mind eating this stuff. _Sometimes_. But I'm not eating this Frenchy Toast monstrosity." He reached around Fai and took the sticky bun. He bit into the bun warily and was relieved that it wasn't as bad as he had remembered.

Fai turned around to stare at him as he chewed, looking entranced; soon, Fai's face flushed and his lips rounded into an "o." Then his eye shifted into that golden cat-eye's pupil, and Kurogane realized Fai's vampire instincts had been aroused. Kurogane didn't care – he had hated the eyes of the bratty vampire, but he found the gold beautiful on Fai, just like the blue of his normal eye. He wondered if that were due to their bond as vampire and bait, that he felt passive and calm and accepting regarding these aspects. Initially, Kurogane had been afraid that he would have to restrain himself from reacting aggressively whenever Fai fed (vampires _were_ monsters, and he had been trained to kill monsters since his childhood), yet he found himself eager for Fai to feed. It felt... right. And damn good. Not that he'd ever admit it to Fai; Fai would become even more of an insufferable tease.

Lazily, Fai stretched his lean body upwards and then entwined long arms around Kurogane's head to draw him closer. Kurogane heard Fai hum contentedly as the mage licked his lips clean of sugar. The humming continued as Fai moved onto his neck, which Fai nuzzled dreamily. Then tiny teeth pierced his skin and Kurogane shuddered with pleasure as he felt Fai pull blood from him. "You shoulf wai. Unil Im done eaing," Kurogane said, with his mouth still full and without much conviction.

Fai stopped drinking to laugh. "Kuro-chi's so sweet."

"_Idiot_."

-Owari.

Let me know if y'all like it. Also, that last part got a little tricky to write – the only bad thing about slash is that it can get confusing since the "he" pronoun can refer to either character. ;;


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